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Lease, employment contract, insurance or LAMal: find out the earliest possible end date and the last day for your letter to arrive on time.
See your lease. If it says nothing, the local custom of your canton applies.
Minimum legal notice period of 3 months for a home (art. 266c CO). The notice must be in writing and signed; for the family home, by both spouses or partners.
Earliest end of the contract
Sunday, 31 January 2027
Indicative calculation based on federal law. Check the notice periods set in your contract.
The tenant can terminate the lease of a home with at least three months’ notice, for a date set by the contract or, failing that, by local custom (art. 266c CO). Many cantons allow the end of every month except December. The notice must be in writing (art. 266l CO) and reach the landlord before the notice period begins. If you cannot keep to the termination date, you can propose a solvent replacement tenant (art. 264 CO).
During the probation period, the contract can be terminated at any time with seven days’ notice. After that, the legal notice period is one month during the first year of service, two months from the second to the ninth year and three months after that, always to the end of a month (art. 335c CO). The contract or the collective labour agreement may set other periods. Remember to ask for your work certificate (certificat de travail, art. 330a CO).
Household contents, third-party liability, vehicle or supplementary health insurance: these contracts fall under the Insurance Contract Act. Since 2022, they can be terminated for the end of the third year or any following year, with three months’ notice (art. 35a LCA), even if the policy sets a longer term. After a claim or a premium increase, other termination rights exist.
Basic insurance can be terminated for 31 December; the letter must reach the insurer at the latest on the last working day of November. With a standard deductible and no alternative model, you can also change for 30 June, with receipt at the latest on the last working day of March. The change only takes effect once the new insurer has confirmed your membership.
What counts is the date of receipt, not the date of sending. A registered letter that is not collected is in principle deemed received on the day it could be collected at the post office counter, or in some cases at the end of the seven-day holding period. So send your letter at least ten days before the deadline and keep the receipt.
The information on this page is for guidance only and does not replace legal advice. Contractual notice periods, collective agreements and local custom may differ from federal law.